Mike and I are about to leave El Calafate, known for the famous Perito Moreno glacier. Sunday we took a boat trip through the national park and saw multiple glaciers -- the Upsala glacier is the biggest in the park, the Spegazzini glacier is the tallest, and the Perito Moreno is the most famous.
Before we arrived, I wasn´t quite sure how excited I´d be about seeing a glacier. I mean, I knew I wanted to see one so that I could say that I´d done it, but I didn´t think I´d be that impressed. I mean, come on, I´m from Michigan. I´ve seen cold.
But these were truly amazing. All of my expectations were blown away. Of course, they were big. But the colors were also amazing, a range of blues that I´d never seen in nature before. Some parts were deep, dark blue, like the sky just before it really turns black. And some spots were this bright, brilliant blue, like an aquamarine. It was shockingly beautiful.
Yesterday, after exploring around them from a distance, we spent the day trekking on el Perito Moreno. We were in a group of 13 people, plus two guides. We started with a trek through the woods to get to the glacier. Then we put on our cramp-ons, the greatest invention ever. They consist of a metal plate that you tie right onto your boots (picture the old-fashioned tie-on roller skates) with big metal spikes coming out of the bottom. They dig right into the ice and provide the best traction I´ve ever felt. I don´t know how I made it through all those Michigan winters without owning a pair.
We spent a couple hours exploring, walking in careful lines so that no one fell into a massive crevice or glacial lake or lagoon. On the edges of the glacier, we fought against the strongest wind I´ve ever felt, so strong I could literally lean into it. We climbed over the natural peaks created by the movement of ice. We looked down holes that went down hundreds of meters, shining blue and radiating cold. Closer to the center of the glacier the wind calmed, and we ate a picnic lunch surrounded by nothing but ice as far as we could see in every direction. We drank directly from glacial streams - the purest, cleanest water on the face of the earth.
It was nothing like winter. It was like nothing I´ve ever seen. I am still a little bit in awe.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Mendoza = Wine. And also, I FLEW!
Mendoza was absolutely wonderful! The city is just beautiful. The region is naturally very dry, but it´s now a bustling wine-growing region. In order to accomplish this, they dug an intricate irrigation system. So that the city itself doesn´t interfere with this irrigation system, tiny irrigation routes run along most of the streets. Nearly everywhere you go in Mendoza you hear the lovely trickle of running water.
We also spent an entire day sampling Argentinian wines and regional delights. One of Mendoza´s best vineyard regions is called Maipú (heehee), and we rented some bikes and found our way around. We visited five different locations and tried a wide variety of wines, olive oils, liquors, dulce de leches, and chocolates.
In addition to basking in Mendoza´s beauty, we ate some amazing food. We splurged on a couple of meals here - seafood Rizotto flavored with squid ink, lamb cooked in a malbec sauce with mushroom ratatouille and couscous, and a super-long pancho (hot dog) with more condiments than dog. (The restaurant was called ``Mr. Dog´´ which is funny, because the connotation of hot dog with a dog doesn´t even really make sense in Spanish...).
All that, though, was a few days ago. We´re now in Bariloche, a town that´s now pretty touristy because it´s got such an amazing view of a perfectly blue lake backed by the snow-capped Andes mountains. We spent yesterday just exploring the little city, eating more good food, and drinking the best hot chocolate of my life.
And today, WE WENT PARAGLIDING!!
We met Frederico and Ernesto, who drove us up a mountain and led us on a short ``trek´´ to a spot near the top. We put on a bunch of silly-looking (but very essential for staying alive) gear, and I strapped myself to Frederico, who strapped himself to the sail.
Then we started running down the mountain. And suddenly, I wasn´t running on the mountain anymore. I was flying.
It was the most amazing feeling I´ve ever experienced. We flew around for about 20 minutes. The views were beautiful, but the true sensation of flying was even more amazing.
Did you ever have dreams about flying when you were a kid? I did, all the time. I would dream that I´d run as fast as I could across our front yard, flapping my arms like mad, and then suddenly I´d take off. And I could feel exactly how the birds felt, soaring on wind currents.
Today, that´s what it was like. We would dip down to where it felt like my feet could almost touch the treetops, then we´d catch a different current and soar upward. A falcon flew right by us, and I knew exactly how he felt.
Today I was a bird, and I got to fly. It´s been an amazing day.
We also spent an entire day sampling Argentinian wines and regional delights. One of Mendoza´s best vineyard regions is called Maipú (heehee), and we rented some bikes and found our way around. We visited five different locations and tried a wide variety of wines, olive oils, liquors, dulce de leches, and chocolates.
In addition to basking in Mendoza´s beauty, we ate some amazing food. We splurged on a couple of meals here - seafood Rizotto flavored with squid ink, lamb cooked in a malbec sauce with mushroom ratatouille and couscous, and a super-long pancho (hot dog) with more condiments than dog. (The restaurant was called ``Mr. Dog´´ which is funny, because the connotation of hot dog with a dog doesn´t even really make sense in Spanish...).
All that, though, was a few days ago. We´re now in Bariloche, a town that´s now pretty touristy because it´s got such an amazing view of a perfectly blue lake backed by the snow-capped Andes mountains. We spent yesterday just exploring the little city, eating more good food, and drinking the best hot chocolate of my life.
And today, WE WENT PARAGLIDING!!
We met Frederico and Ernesto, who drove us up a mountain and led us on a short ``trek´´ to a spot near the top. We put on a bunch of silly-looking (but very essential for staying alive) gear, and I strapped myself to Frederico, who strapped himself to the sail.
Then we started running down the mountain. And suddenly, I wasn´t running on the mountain anymore. I was flying.
It was the most amazing feeling I´ve ever experienced. We flew around for about 20 minutes. The views were beautiful, but the true sensation of flying was even more amazing.
Did you ever have dreams about flying when you were a kid? I did, all the time. I would dream that I´d run as fast as I could across our front yard, flapping my arms like mad, and then suddenly I´d take off. And I could feel exactly how the birds felt, soaring on wind currents.
Today, that´s what it was like. We would dip down to where it felt like my feet could almost touch the treetops, then we´d catch a different current and soar upward. A falcon flew right by us, and I knew exactly how he felt.
Today I was a bird, and I got to fly. It´s been an amazing day.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Oh Cordoba... :-P
Mike and I arrived this morning in Mendoza, which I adore so far! But before that, we stopped over in Cordoba. If we had gone directly from Iguazú to Mendoza, it would have been a 36 hour bus ride, so we decided to break it up by spending one night in Cordoba.
Now Cordoba might be a very nice place. If you were an art student, you would probably love living in Cordoba. And apparently there´s a lot of beautiful natural wonders surrounding the area outside of Cordoba. But if you are a tourist who is really interested in going somewhere else, well, let´s just say Cordoba didn´t quite stack up to the other places we´ve seen here.
According to our map, the hostel we´d booked didn´t look to be that far from the bus station. So we decided to walk. It turned out to be about 15 blocks away, uphill the entire time. The hostel then turned out to be a little bit gross. And it had the weirdest bathroom I´ve ever seen. The sink, toilet, and shower head were all in one tiny room that was about 3 by 3 feet, with no shower curtain to separate anything. So when you shower, you just squirt water all over the entire bathroom. The bathroom is equipped with a squeegie and a sign requests that you squeegie the giant puddle of water toward the slow, tiny drain when you´re finished showering. Weird.
After this harrowing experience, we decided to go see the city. We´d read about this beautiful, huge park where we decided to have a picnic. When we got there, we discovered a ginormous dustbowl. Literally, dust was just blowing everywhere amongst acres of dead trees.
We did manage to find a really cool art museum. We also listened to a free blues show (which was sadly mediocre) inside a big public cathedral, and we watched a documentary in a cine that shows independent films. Overall, though, we spent the majority of our time eating and sitting in little restaurants, waiting to go to Mendoza.
But NOW, now we´re in Mendoza. And it´s BEAUTIFUL! It´s all laid out around these five main plazas that are just gorgeous with lush green grass, flowers, trees, fountains, and pretty tilework. We´ve just gotten started exploring, but so far it´s looking like Mendoza may turn out to be my favorite Argentinian city. I guess we´re off to find out!
Now Cordoba might be a very nice place. If you were an art student, you would probably love living in Cordoba. And apparently there´s a lot of beautiful natural wonders surrounding the area outside of Cordoba. But if you are a tourist who is really interested in going somewhere else, well, let´s just say Cordoba didn´t quite stack up to the other places we´ve seen here.
According to our map, the hostel we´d booked didn´t look to be that far from the bus station. So we decided to walk. It turned out to be about 15 blocks away, uphill the entire time. The hostel then turned out to be a little bit gross. And it had the weirdest bathroom I´ve ever seen. The sink, toilet, and shower head were all in one tiny room that was about 3 by 3 feet, with no shower curtain to separate anything. So when you shower, you just squirt water all over the entire bathroom. The bathroom is equipped with a squeegie and a sign requests that you squeegie the giant puddle of water toward the slow, tiny drain when you´re finished showering. Weird.
After this harrowing experience, we decided to go see the city. We´d read about this beautiful, huge park where we decided to have a picnic. When we got there, we discovered a ginormous dustbowl. Literally, dust was just blowing everywhere amongst acres of dead trees.
We did manage to find a really cool art museum. We also listened to a free blues show (which was sadly mediocre) inside a big public cathedral, and we watched a documentary in a cine that shows independent films. Overall, though, we spent the majority of our time eating and sitting in little restaurants, waiting to go to Mendoza.
But NOW, now we´re in Mendoza. And it´s BEAUTIFUL! It´s all laid out around these five main plazas that are just gorgeous with lush green grass, flowers, trees, fountains, and pretty tilework. We´ve just gotten started exploring, but so far it´s looking like Mendoza may turn out to be my favorite Argentinian city. I guess we´re off to find out!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Fiesta, fútbol y cataratas
Friday, Mike and I walked around and saw more sights, including the historic Plaza de Mayo. The city itself is just beautiful, and there´s so much to see that no matter how much you walk around and explore you still feel like you´ll never see it all. Friday night we went to Palermo to celebrate Fernando´s birthday with Stafford and other new friends. It was a warm and wonderful evening where we met new people from all over the world, had great food and beverage, and enjoyed ourselves completely!
Saturday was fútbol day. As you may know, Argentinians are pretty serious about their fútbol (or soccer, for us crazy Americans). So we figured Buenos Aires would be the perfect place to watch some great fútbol, as well as some dedicated fans. We bought tickets to a Boca Juniors game as part of a group, since it´s apparently incredibly hard to get tickets to games. The tickets are not very expensive, but you can´t just get them from the stadium. They´re all sold first to agents or sellers, and you have to know who they are in order to get your ticket. So we found one through our hostel who leads group tours to go to games.
The stadium is huge and seemed completely full. We sat with a bunch of international folks in the cheap seats, which also tend to be where the most dedicated fans sit. It´s called the ``singing section,´´ and for good reason. Where American fans may ``cheer,´´ Argentinian fans literally sing! It´s like being a part of giant, giant choir singing to the fútbol players. We stood for the entire game (as any devoted fan should), jumped up and down, and tried to sing along. People worked together to wave massive flags and banners, and there was no shortage of confetti and fireworks. I feel pretty confident in saying that this was the most excited and dedicated crowd that I´ve ever seen at any sporting event anywhere. It was exhilarating to be a part of.
The next day, we took an overnight bus ride up to Puerto Iguazú. We spent the first day exploring the little town and relaxing a bit in the hostel. Then today, we went to Parque Nacional de Iguazú, home of the famed cataratas (waterfalls). I can´t even begin to explain the beauty of the natural surroundings we found ourselves in. The jungle is full of all sorts of unique plant life - you know those plants that are potted and sold as fancy ``exotic´´ plants? This is where they actually live and grow wild.
In the morning, we took a boat ride through the river that drove us right up to one of the falls, and then into one! We were soaked! It was a wonderful perspective to see the waterfalls from that close.
And the animals! We saw hundreds of colorful butterflies of various sizes, some of which were close enough to touch! Countless species of birds flew over our heads, and dozens of little lizards skittered alongside us. There were these cute animals called coaties, who look like a mix between a squirrel, anteater, and raccoon. They didn´t seem to be afraid of peole, and I found them adorable! Until we sat down to lunch and one of them climbed up on the table and stole my empanada! On our way out of the park, we saw five or six monkeys climbing around and jumping from tree to tree - they came down kind of close to us and even stared at us for a little while!
It´s absolutely beautiful here and we´ll be going back to the park again tomorrow to explore even more! Mike´s uploading pictures now, so check them out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mkligerman/Argentina1#
Saturday was fútbol day. As you may know, Argentinians are pretty serious about their fútbol (or soccer, for us crazy Americans). So we figured Buenos Aires would be the perfect place to watch some great fútbol, as well as some dedicated fans. We bought tickets to a Boca Juniors game as part of a group, since it´s apparently incredibly hard to get tickets to games. The tickets are not very expensive, but you can´t just get them from the stadium. They´re all sold first to agents or sellers, and you have to know who they are in order to get your ticket. So we found one through our hostel who leads group tours to go to games.
The stadium is huge and seemed completely full. We sat with a bunch of international folks in the cheap seats, which also tend to be where the most dedicated fans sit. It´s called the ``singing section,´´ and for good reason. Where American fans may ``cheer,´´ Argentinian fans literally sing! It´s like being a part of giant, giant choir singing to the fútbol players. We stood for the entire game (as any devoted fan should), jumped up and down, and tried to sing along. People worked together to wave massive flags and banners, and there was no shortage of confetti and fireworks. I feel pretty confident in saying that this was the most excited and dedicated crowd that I´ve ever seen at any sporting event anywhere. It was exhilarating to be a part of.
The next day, we took an overnight bus ride up to Puerto Iguazú. We spent the first day exploring the little town and relaxing a bit in the hostel. Then today, we went to Parque Nacional de Iguazú, home of the famed cataratas (waterfalls). I can´t even begin to explain the beauty of the natural surroundings we found ourselves in. The jungle is full of all sorts of unique plant life - you know those plants that are potted and sold as fancy ``exotic´´ plants? This is where they actually live and grow wild.
In the morning, we took a boat ride through the river that drove us right up to one of the falls, and then into one! We were soaked! It was a wonderful perspective to see the waterfalls from that close.
And the animals! We saw hundreds of colorful butterflies of various sizes, some of which were close enough to touch! Countless species of birds flew over our heads, and dozens of little lizards skittered alongside us. There were these cute animals called coaties, who look like a mix between a squirrel, anteater, and raccoon. They didn´t seem to be afraid of peole, and I found them adorable! Until we sat down to lunch and one of them climbed up on the table and stole my empanada! On our way out of the park, we saw five or six monkeys climbing around and jumping from tree to tree - they came down kind of close to us and even stared at us for a little while!
It´s absolutely beautiful here and we´ll be going back to the park again tomorrow to explore even more! Mike´s uploading pictures now, so check them out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mkligerman/Argentina1#
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tango, Artes, y Carne
Tango on Tuesday night was a success! Mike and I learned a few steps pretty well, so the next time tango music comes on we´ll be able to slowly dance the same few moves over and over. :-) After learning a little bit, we got to watch our teacher and other professional dancers put on show. The music was amazing and the dancing was phenomenal!
Wednesday it was rainy (like Tuesday), so we tried to do something indoors. We visited El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. I love how they specify that this is the museum of beautiful art. And it was. The museum is open everyday and is completely free. I think my favorite part was an exhibit by an Argentinian artist named Antonio Berni. He made large paintings, many of which incorporated other materials like fabric and tin cans, and his works are strong social commentaries on moments in Argentina´s history.
Thursday it was still rainy. So far, Buenos Aires is just rainy. We decided that if we waited till it stopped raining to really see Buenos Aires, we´d never see it. So we donned our hiking boots and waterproof jackets and went for a cold, wet walking tour. We stopped in at la Biblioteca Nacional (yes, I´m that big of a dork that I really wanted to see the library). We spent the afternoon walking around Recoleta and Palermo enjoying the architecture and looking in fun little shops and galleries. Throughout the day we drank plenty of tea and coffee to stay warm.
Then, last night: La Parrilla. There are parrillas all over Buenos Aires, and I´m pretty sure the word can have different contextual meanings. It can mean the steak house in general. I think it´s also a reference to the specific type of grill they use. There´s space to burn wood on one side, and then the coals that develop are spread underneath the rest of the grill where the meat actually sits. And then there´s the meaning of the word that we did last night.
I think you can also use the word to mean the social event of a barbecue. We attended a parrilla behind a bar called Cómo te extraño Clara. There were about 15 people there, including us. Some were from the US (us, a couple from Seattle, a guy from California), a couple of people from Brazil, Sam from New Zealand (who works at our hostel and suggested we attend), and local porteños (people from Buenos Aires).
This was quite possibly the most interesting meat-eating experience I´ve ever had. The grill was stuffed with tons of different cuts of meat, as well as achuras. Achuras are the special inside-parts of the bull that are often not eaten. But oh did we eat them. The cocinero knew exactly how long to cook each part, exactly how much salt to season it with, exactly how crunchy it should be... it was amazing.
We were all in the dark about what we were eating until we´d eaten it. The cocinero would bring it out as small pieces on a wooden serving platter with little toothpicks stuck in each piece. We´d ask ``What´s this?´´ and the response was always ``Try it first.´´ I think I would have tried everything anyway, but this way we could get our first taste unbiased by any preconceived notions.
We ate (get ready, this is kind of amazing):
All in all, an absolutely amazing Argentinian experience! And now you know, if anyone ever offers you corazón de toro, you should accept, because it´s delicious.
Wednesday it was rainy (like Tuesday), so we tried to do something indoors. We visited El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. I love how they specify that this is the museum of beautiful art. And it was. The museum is open everyday and is completely free. I think my favorite part was an exhibit by an Argentinian artist named Antonio Berni. He made large paintings, many of which incorporated other materials like fabric and tin cans, and his works are strong social commentaries on moments in Argentina´s history.
Thursday it was still rainy. So far, Buenos Aires is just rainy. We decided that if we waited till it stopped raining to really see Buenos Aires, we´d never see it. So we donned our hiking boots and waterproof jackets and went for a cold, wet walking tour. We stopped in at la Biblioteca Nacional (yes, I´m that big of a dork that I really wanted to see the library). We spent the afternoon walking around Recoleta and Palermo enjoying the architecture and looking in fun little shops and galleries. Throughout the day we drank plenty of tea and coffee to stay warm.
Then, last night: La Parrilla. There are parrillas all over Buenos Aires, and I´m pretty sure the word can have different contextual meanings. It can mean the steak house in general. I think it´s also a reference to the specific type of grill they use. There´s space to burn wood on one side, and then the coals that develop are spread underneath the rest of the grill where the meat actually sits. And then there´s the meaning of the word that we did last night.
I think you can also use the word to mean the social event of a barbecue. We attended a parrilla behind a bar called Cómo te extraño Clara. There were about 15 people there, including us. Some were from the US (us, a couple from Seattle, a guy from California), a couple of people from Brazil, Sam from New Zealand (who works at our hostel and suggested we attend), and local porteños (people from Buenos Aires).
This was quite possibly the most interesting meat-eating experience I´ve ever had. The grill was stuffed with tons of different cuts of meat, as well as achuras. Achuras are the special inside-parts of the bull that are often not eaten. But oh did we eat them. The cocinero knew exactly how long to cook each part, exactly how much salt to season it with, exactly how crunchy it should be... it was amazing.
We were all in the dark about what we were eating until we´d eaten it. The cocinero would bring it out as small pieces on a wooden serving platter with little toothpicks stuck in each piece. We´d ask ``What´s this?´´ and the response was always ``Try it first.´´ I think I would have tried everything anyway, but this way we could get our first taste unbiased by any preconceived notions.
We ate (get ready, this is kind of amazing):
- Blood Sausage
- Empanadas (delicious pastries filled with ground beef, peppers, and yummy seasonings)
- Choripan (not part of the cow but cooked on the grill - it´s pig sausage in a bun, and it´s delicious)
- Kidney (chewy, salty, tasty)
- Heart (I was surprised, but this was actually my favorite part!)
- Testicles (suave is my best way to describe them)
- Intestines (cooked till they´re skinny and crunchy)
- Flank steak
- Rump roast
- Ribs
- Vacio (which the cocinero kept translating as ``empty´´ and comes from the part of the bull where the ribs end)
- Loin
All in all, an absolutely amazing Argentinian experience! And now you know, if anyone ever offers you corazón de toro, you should accept, because it´s delicious.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
We´re Here!
Mike and I arrived safe and sound in Buenos Aires this morning, as did our checked backpacks (sigh of relief). We´re all settled in at our hostel, which is delightfully eclectic, and we´ve even eaten at our first parrilla. Buenos Aires is famous for them - steak houses with more cuts of steak than the 4H could dream of, perfectly prepared by cocineros who cook nothing but beef all day long. In fact, at the parrilla we went to, if you order something that´s not beef, it comes from a separate kitchen. The beef grill gets its own special area all to itself. It was absolutely delicious!
Tonight we´re off to an evening of tango! We´ve got an hour long tango lesson scheduled, then dinner and a professional tango show. Yes, that´s right, at the beginning of that sentence you read correctly. I will be attempting the tango. Those of you who know me well know that dancing has never been my forte, and my clumsiness can be dangerous to myself and others. Let´s hope I don´t break any bones. I don´t doubt that it will be extraordinarily ridiculous.
Off we go! ¡Hasta pronto!
Tonight we´re off to an evening of tango! We´ve got an hour long tango lesson scheduled, then dinner and a professional tango show. Yes, that´s right, at the beginning of that sentence you read correctly. I will be attempting the tango. Those of you who know me well know that dancing has never been my forte, and my clumsiness can be dangerous to myself and others. Let´s hope I don´t break any bones. I don´t doubt that it will be extraordinarily ridiculous.
Off we go! ¡Hasta pronto!
Friday, August 27, 2010
¡Bienvenidos!
¡Hola!
Here's where I'll try to keep you all updated on the big Argentinian journey!
We began in Michigan, where Mike and I went up to the beautiful town of Leland for Anne's wedding. We met Anne's cousing Stafford, who lives in Buenos Aires, and we already have dinner plans for our first Friday in Argentina!
Then we spent a few days in Grand Rapids hanging out with my family (and also packing everything I own into a 5x10 storage unit). We're now in Massachusetts visiting Mike's family for a bit, and we fly away in just four days.
Hope you're all doing well! Happy Friday!
Here's where I'll try to keep you all updated on the big Argentinian journey!
We began in Michigan, where Mike and I went up to the beautiful town of Leland for Anne's wedding. We met Anne's cousing Stafford, who lives in Buenos Aires, and we already have dinner plans for our first Friday in Argentina!
Then we spent a few days in Grand Rapids hanging out with my family (and also packing everything I own into a 5x10 storage unit). We're now in Massachusetts visiting Mike's family for a bit, and we fly away in just four days.
Hope you're all doing well! Happy Friday!
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